


Loud, Empty Pages

by DrowsyTea



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec is going through a writer's block, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mundane Alec Lightwood, Mundane Magnus Bane, Writer!Alec, alec lightwood is an awkward mess, because same, but he's magnus' awkward mess, cafe owner!Magnus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:07:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28796640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrowsyTea/pseuds/DrowsyTea
Summary: He looked at his clock and saw it was already 6 P.M. Which meant, he had been sitting in front of his laptop for more than six hours and the only thing he came out with was,‘Noah can’t believe his eyes when he sees—‘Saw what? Death? Alec wished.Alec is a struggling writer hoping to find inspiration. Little does he know, something better awaits him, only 20 minutes away.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 18
Kudos: 85





	Loud, Empty Pages

Alec hadn’t written anything in weeks.

He almost felt bad for his editor who had been begging him for a new draft since last week. Well, sorry to say Simon, but Alec couldn’t even finish one fucking scene.

He looked at his clock and saw it was already 6 P.M. Which meant, he had been sitting in front of his laptop for more than six hours and the only thing he came out with was, _‘Noah can’t believe his eyes when he sees—‘_ Saw what? Death? Alec wished.

Alec stretched his arms up above his head, welcoming the satisfying pain surging from his back. Izzy had always scolded him for his sitting posture, “You’re going to end up like the Hunchback of New York if you don’t fix it, _Hermano._ ” He remembered her saying that more times than he could count. He took a sip of his coffee and his nose scrunched.

His coffee had gone cold.

Alec let out a sigh and stood up to walk to his sink, pouring the bitter drink down the drain. He sat back down in front of his computer in hope that his brain would stop being a dick and start to do its job.

Another hour had passed, Alec felt like his brain was mocking him.

Alec cursed to no one in particular and finally decided to close his laptop (he would have slammed it if only his common sense and wallet didn’t remind him how much money a new laptop would cost). He ran a hand through his dark hair and was immediately disgusted by how greasy his hair was. He swore to god he took a shower this morning... or was it yesterday?

Oh, how great. His life was slowly falling apart.

Alec let out another big sigh because maybe God would hear his misery and end it—or worsen it, whatever, he really didn’t care anymore. He stood up, took his towel from the drying rack, and headed to the shower. Maybe all his stupid, dumb, useless head needed was clean and fresh washed hair. Hopefully.

He decided to loath the creative box in his head.

He sat down and opened his laptop again after showering and all he got were red eyes from staring at his screen too intensely in the dark— _‘maybe next time try to turn on the light, Alec.‘ ‘No Jace, you don’t understand, my brain works better when it’s dark.’—_ and a damn insufferable headache.

He stared at the alarm clock on his table, _’10:32 P.M.’_ it showed on the screen. If he decided to sleep now, he would just lay on his bed until the time hit 2 A.M. and if he decided to write, his brain would literally explode. Either decision would end up with him slowly losing his sanity and Alec didn’t think that was very ideal.

So he went out instead.

He wore his kind-of-itchy scarf and favorite coat even though he could imagine Izzy’s exasperated eyes on him if she ever saw him wear the damn 5-year-old coat ever again. He didn’t care if it got holes, Izzy. As long as it was warm, the coat fulfilled its job and it was enough for him. He only brought his phone, notebooks, and pen with him inside of his bag just in case his brain would finally act like a brain. 

When he stepped out of his warm home, out to the cold night of New York City, he almost ran back inside to his warm and cozy bed. But he held himself back. He didn’t know where to go and it wasn’t like he planned on going out in the first place. So he just followed wherever his feet wanted to go.

His teeth were chattering loudly as he strolled the street. The wind was ridiculously cold and he could see he wasn’t the only one feeling it. The city was still so busy and loud with the sound of engines, chattering crowds, and bright lights. 

There weren’t many stores open at this hour. He observed how some outlets were still cleaning up but most of them had turned off their lights completely, each with a close sign hanging towards the street on their door. However, there was one café still open with no sign of closing.

He was a bit hesitant to go in at first, afraid that it _was_ closing for the night and Alec would end up looking like a giant asshole coming in at the last minute. But then his doubt vanished when he looked through the glass door and saw a man behind the counter smiling at him.

Smiling at him with the most gorgeous smile Alec had ever seen.

Okay, that might be an exaggeration. Even so, the man was gorgeous and Alec really needed to go inside now or he might end up looking like a creepy stalker guy. 

He went inside the café bar with a shiver and immediately felt the cold was replaced by warmth. 

Now he was inside, he could see the man clearer. Never mind what he said earlier, it wasn’t an exaggeration. The man had the most gorgeous smile Alec had ever seen. The man’s dark hair was styled like one of those cover models on Jace’s monthly Esquire magazines, his sleeves were pulled up showing more of his brown skin, and—

“Just alone?” the man asked, startling Alec out of his thoughts.

“Uh, y-yeah just me.” Nice response Alec Lightwood, your mother would be _so_ proud. 

Alec saw the man's name tag, _Magnus_ , was written on it. ‘ _Unusual name,’_ he thought. 

“Take any empty seat you’d like,” he heard Magnus say, “I personally recommend taking a seat beside the window, watching people passing by can be really therapeutic at times,” he continued, with a silky voice. 

Alec wasn’t going to argue with that, so he forced his eyes to look away from the gorgeous man in front of him, to the street. 

He ordered a slice of double-chocolate cake and a cup of hot Turmeric Tea because drinking coffee at this hour sounded like a bad idea. After Magnus took his order (Alec tried to make an eye-contact, he swore), he took out his book and pen. He started to write anything that came to mind. But the thing is, _nothing_ came up so even after another 10 minutes, the page in front of him was still pathetically empty.

If Simon was beside him right now, he would try to encourage Alec, saying things like, “it’s okay, it’s all about the process.” or “you can’t rush arts, take your time.” as if he wasn’t suffering along with the writer. 

But his inner Simon was right. You couldn’t rush art. 

So he closed his book and looked around his surroundings. The cafe was really cozy and wonderfully warm despite the cold raging outside of it. The heater must be expensive. His eyes kept on wandering until he saw it. A bookshelf.

Alec stood up and walked towards it. There were different types of books on it. There were novels, magazines, newspapers, and even cooking books. He let his eyes roam the novel shelf until they stopped on one particular book. It was a book with a too familiar title on the side of it. 

_‘Above the Clouds’_

It was his damn book. 

He wasn’t exactly surprised seeing it here knowing how popular the book was. It was just, this book reminded him that he hadn’t been able to write anything past a paragraph for the sequel of the said novel. Alec didn’t even realize he was looking at it so intensely until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around and saw a pair of amber eyes beautifully lined with kohl looking straight at him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Magnus said, actually sounding regretful, “but I was calling you and you didn’t respond, and I don’t want you to drink your tea cold.” 

Alec was pretty sure his face was red because he could feel his ears heating up. “Oh yeah, thanks,” he mumbled. He strolled past Magnus, back to his seat. What he didn’t realize was that he brought the book with him. 

Alec sat down and put his hands around the steaming mug in front of him, welcoming the warmth coursing through it. He felt someone take a seat next to him. “Not a big fan of the book?"

He turned around and saw Magnus had seated next to him. He blinked rapidly, “Wh—what?” 

Magnus smiled, “I saw you staring at it like it just kicked your cat,” he said, “and I’m quite sure you left a dent on it by how hard you clutched it.” 

“Oh no, I'm sorry—“

“No, no it’s okay really,” Magnus hastily told him. “I was just curious what that book has done to you to the point it put a frown on such a gorgeous face.” He saw Magnus with his hand propping his chin along with a coy look on his face.

Alec felt a wave of heat from his neck. He ended up so flustered and blurted out, “what do you think about the book?” 

Magnus quirked an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“What do you think about the book?” 

Alec thought he fucked up. This gorgeous man was flirting with him and then he went out of his way to ruin the moment. That was what he thought until he saw a genuine smile slowly forming on the other man’s face. “Well, you better prepare your ear because I won’t be able to shut up.”

“Oh, you’ve read the book?”

Magnus chuckled, “I’ve read every book on that book rack.” He pointed at the bookshelf. “Most of them are my personal collection anyway.”

Alec thought those eyes couldn’t be more beautiful than before. He was proven wrong right away when he saw the way Magnus’ eyes crinkled as he smiled.

Magnus turned his gaze to the book between them, “this book helped me a lot to be honest,” he said softly while playing with his silver ear cuffs. 

Alec perked up at that, “it did?” he asked, hoping Magnus wouldn’t look into the surprise in his voice too much.

Magnus nodded, hand-painted nails and decorated by rings on each finger trailing the title carefully, “yeah," he said, "you see, I'm bi. If you haven't noticed," he informed Alec, with a flirty smile and a wink.

Alec's heart skipped a beat, but then he regained control right away. 

"I've always been proud of who I am for a long time. But seeing one of the main characters is bi really makes me feel seen, you know." 

Noah's love interest, Eli, was a bi man. Izzy helped him a lot in building his character. 

Magnus turned at him with an accusing look, his brows furrowed, "Unless that's the reason for the frown on your face."

Alec's hand flailing around, "What- no, no way!" he exclaimed, afraid the other man would misunderstand, "I-I'm gay!" he blurted out. 

Alec was pretty sure he froze a bit after saying that. Sure, he wasn't in the closet anymore, remembering how he came out on family Christmas dinner two years ago, resulting in a proud look from Izzy, Jace’s choking accident, Max’s confused gaze, his father's shocked face, and of course, how could he forget his mother’s raging eyes. But saying it out loud was still rather nerve-racking. 

"And no, I don't hate the book. Not at all. Far from hating it actually. It's just some-- something else..." He could hear his voice going lower and smaller with each word. Oh God, he sounded like Simon. 

He heard laughter from the seat beside him. At first, Alec thought Magnus was mocking him, then the laughter died down. "Sorry," Magnus said, in between chuckles, "I wasn't laughing at you, I promised." A long, pretty finger wiping his eyes, carefully so, as not to ruin the neatly lined kohl around them.

Without noticing, Alec felt a smile slowly forming on his face.

“There you go,” Magnus said softly, “that suits you better.” 

Alec felt his face warming again but not in an uncomfortable way. “I’m Alec,” he introduced himself. “A-Alec Lightwood.” 

Hearing that, Magnus’ cat-like eyes went wide. It took him 10 seconds to regain control of his gaping jaw, “ _The_ Alec Lightwood??” he asked incredulously.

Alec gave him a small nod.

“Holy shit,” Magnus murmured, “wow, okay.” His hand went up to his mouth. “I just didn’t expect the author to be this cute,” he said, with a wink, even though Alec still could see the shock in his amber eyes. Magnus cleared his throat and offered his hand to Alec, “I’m Magnus. Magnus Bane.”

Alec took the hand in front of him and felt Magnus’ warm skin and cold from his rings. 

Maybe the night wouldn’t be so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> hello loves <33
> 
> Alec's writer's block is actually lowkey based on my own writer's block. So if you squint, u can see that the first part is actually just me, ranting about my own brain lol.
> 
> Sorry if there were any grammar mistakes because english is not my first language. hope u enjoyed it!
> 
> And don't forget to wear a mask, wash ur hands, and stay hydrated! <33


End file.
